Farmers planning for the upcoming breeding season may now be looking at ways to ensure they have sufficient grass cover to feed ewes during lambing.
As grass growth rates will plummet during December and January, steps should be taken in the coming weeks to prepare feed for the spring.
This can be done effectively through the closing of paddocks in mid to late October, when grass is still growing, to secure sufficient grass cover for March lambing.
Grass cover
Teagasc is advising farmers to guarantee grass cover in the spring and when grass growth starts to increase again in February and March, it is the earlier-closed fields that will respond quickest to the increasing temperatures and an early application of fertiliser.
Where winter housing is not available or practical, Teagasc said that ewes can be managed in an extended grazing system on grass built up earlier in the autumn, with grass allocated daily or every second day.
“Ewes could also be wintered on forage crops, away to winter grazing or with hay/silage and concentrate supplementation outdoors,” Teagasc stated.
Sheep should be confined to a smaller area of the farm (less than 20%) allowing grass supplies to build on the majority of the area.
Teagasc recommends that grazing closed fields in December and January must be avoided, as this grass is worth much more in the spring to the freshly lambed ewe than in mid-pregnancy.
A ewe’s feed requirement in mid-pregnancy is approximately half that of a ewe in early lactation producing milk for two lambs.
Closing paddocks
Preparations should include that the first paddocks closed should be sheltered and close to the lambing area, according to Teagasc.
Where autumn grass covers are high, an electric fence can be used to reduce the area available for grazing at any one time to make ewes graze down to the desired post-grazing height of around 4cm.
It is important to graze swards as tight as possible when closing, as carrying higher residuals over winter will lead to a lot of dead material accumulating at the base of the sward which will depress grass growth in the spring and reduce quality.